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Student Life: Coffee House
By Stephen Flemings
Friday the ninth we hosted the student Coffee House. Coffee House is the student’s night to show off their “mad skills” Whether you dance, sing, skit, or otherwise, it’s your night in the spot light. Almost all of the students (and even some faculty) show up to watch.
We put the coffee in “Coffee House” with our java, and drinks. The beverages were balanced out by some great snacks, like homemade chocolate chip cookies, and cake. There were about nine performances ranging from a hilarious skit (featuring a salsa disco fusion) to an incredible performance of “Danny Boy” Every performance was reviewed by a panel of three judges. True to American Idol form some were Simon-ized, others were praised. The judges just kept things interesting; there was no real pressure. By the time the performances had finished up, the night was growing late. Fortunately everyone had enough coffee to keep them going thru the impromptu presidential debate.
We are mid-election season here, and the Coffee House made the perfect platform for our debate. It was a fun way for the student body to learn about the candidate’s views. After the debate the floor was cleared for dancing and the DJ kicked up the music to round out the night. All-in-all, the Coffee House was a blast. Next time you’re here at JP Catholic, be sure to check the schedule for events to see if you can join the entertainment.
This Quarter’s Focus: Action
By: Justin Wilga
So we finally are entering the final stretch of the Business LaunchPad. We the graduate this December and we have 11 months to get ready. The students are ready. They have the process down. Professor Iocco shifted gears with the class. We now only meet one and one and our homework is to meet the individual needs of each group’s business. Some kids will have to read a book, another will have to do market research, and some will have to start making films. The big word of the quarter is action. We have the presentations down. We just are working on the actual ideas and making them a reality. It is a very exciting time and you can feel the urgency in the air.
Men’s Night
By Justin Wilga
JP Catholic is very unique school, not duplicated anywhere else in world. This unique school attracts unique people with a sense of purpose. This sense of purpose is seen in everyone and I would say there is a unity in the student body. They are all driven to become saints. In order to reach that goal, students have come together to help each other in that arduous challenge. The men of JP Catholic get together on Tuesday nights to just be men, Men of God. We eat, pray, talk, listen, share, and goof off “AS MEN.” Sometimes we have spaghetti, talk about community, and try to build community at JP Catholic. Other times we pray then play Ultimate Frisbee for two and half hours. Each night is different, and we don’t care. We are just trying to get to sainthood together. I think it’s great that all the men of JP Catholic have this same purpose, to run the race that St. Paul tells us to run, and that we are running it together.
Women’s Night
By Tasha Freeman
Each week, we put on a men's and women's night as a way for us to grow spiritually as a community. It’s a great chance for us to really get together with the girls (or guys) and discuss hard issues that we all face daily. This week at women's night we took time to read John Paul II's letter to women (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_29061995_women_en.html ). This letter gives you a pat on the back for being a woman; it explores how we are needed in all aspect of culture. It was really nice to hear him talk about the importance for us women to embrace our womanhood and enjoy it. After a family meal and reading JPII's letter we discussed our own feelings toward womanhood, and how being a woman really helps men be men. To conclude our night we decided on a novena for our future spouses, whoever they may be.
What have we learned? (Part 4)
Lesson 4: D-grade Celebrities and Viral Video
Maggie
Gallagher is the person the White House calls whenever they need
advice on public policy about families. Jim Holman owns 4 major
newspapers in San Diego, and has been a pro-life activist for years.
Bishop Salvatore Cordileone is, well... a bishop! These are all
people that we got to meet face-to-face, and worked side-by-side with
on these activism videos. They're not “famous,” but they
do have more clout than the average person. Maggie calls herself a
D-grade celebrity.
Towards the end of the election season, we developed a real hard hitting
script about the conflict between religious liberty and sexual
liberty. The plan was to leverage our connections with “D-grade
celebrities” to give it even more punch. In selecting 'actors'
to deliver the lines, we picked friends of the university who already
had a following of some kind: the Culture
of Life Family Clinic, Bishop Cordileone, and our own Professor
Barber. People aren't googling their names on a regular basis,
like Eduardo Verastegui, but they are well known in a specific
community. Our theory was: by tapping into those communities, we
could help our video spread more quickly.
The lesson learned here came from failure. The videowe put out got just over a thousand views. Timing worked against us,
because it was put out just a few days before the election, and while
it was good (in production value, in script...) it just wasn't unique
enough to compel large numbers of people to tell their friends.
There is a happy ending, though! The script inspired our very own Matt
Connors when he made his famous “Catholics Appalled at Anti-Mormon Slur” video. Our failure in one
area spawned another video that gathered more than 115k views. Aside
from Matt's downright inspiring choice of music and images, he (and
Professor Barber) tapped directly into a sentiment that the entire
Mormon community shared, and he released his video immediately after
it hit the most heated point. Final lesson learned? Appeal to
people's hearts, and never delay when you've got something no one
else is saying.
Preproduction
By Tim Evans
The production simulation is going ahead full steam. We are maybe a day or two behind schedule, as far as where we want to be in the preproduction phase goes, but nothing too bad.
Last week we had our casting calls. Three people auditioned over YouTube, and they got the parts. One actress is even willing to fly herself out here from Texas, pay all her own expenses, and repeat the process if necessary, even though she knows she will not be paid for this!
But the most interesting casting was for the lead role. The description called for a young man to play the high-school student with the body of a Greek god; the man all the girls want, but who still has the heart of a comic-book nerd. We had offers from several middle-aged men, some stringy gothic fellows, and other… interesting characters. But we had three live auditions last Saturday. After much discussion, watching the recordings again, and weighing the pros and cons, we were at a standstill between two options. Kevin is a student here: he is a great actor, and takes direction really well. But he looks more like a quarterback, or jock type. Josh is a local Abercrombie model. He does have the body of a Greek God, and the wardrobe and face to match his tanned muscles. But he cannot act. Which was more important for this character? We took it to the ‘studio’, who easily chose Kevin. Kevin was enthusiastic, and I believe he will be great in the role.
The next day, I went with the producer and cinematographer to scout out a school location for our film’s high school. We found a great one, and they are letting us film there on weekends. But the cafeteria will not work, so that will have to be somewhere else…
Team 1 started filming today. (We are team 3). I saw their set. It looks very professional. And they seem to have everything well under control.
We need to start jumping the gun a little more…
I have the shot lists almost completed. Steve has finished production boards. All the rewrites are done. We are casted and almost scheduled. When things are finalized with location and schedule, I will start storyboarding and planning with the cinematographer and sound guy. Filming should begin in a week.
The Nature of the Web: Internet Video (Part 1)
“The nature of TV is 'flow' not 'show.'” One of my textbooks last quarter drew this contrast between television and cinema. I had to think about it for awhile, but it makes a lot of sense: the best type of movies to watch in theaters are the ones with all kinds of spectacle. The driving action flick, wide sweeping vistas, worlds you've never seen before... That's what you find in theaters that's better than anywhere else. The more spectacle you include, the more successful your film will be at the box office. The Dark Knight is a great example, or Titanic, which, because it was set on a beautiful and historic ship in the arctic seas, ended up being a chick flick with spectacle.
Television is about having a constant, steady flow of programming. It's right there in your living room, so you can turn it on at any time and find something to occupy your mind. The more regular and continuous your flow of content, the more successful you'll be in television. The stories also tend to be episodic, bringing you the same characters at the same time every week. TV is like the old friend you can always come back to.
So what unique features of the internet can we capitalize on for success in web video? The most fundamental attribute is the capability for feedback. Every online news story has a comment box at the bottom. Popular YouTube videos have a plethora of “video responses.” Back when the internet first emerged, some of the most regularly used features were message boards and forums. It really goes to show that the internet is a 2-way communications medium, in addition to being mass communication. So publishing a blog is all well and good, but the blogosphere functions because of the discussion sparked among the readers and other bloggers. So what are the ways you can give your viewers input and interaction when it comes to video?
To be continued next week...
Production Simulation
By Tim Evans
What better way for a film student to start the New Year, the new quarter, than to make a film? And not just a film, a web series: the forefront of new media.
This quarter we have our production simulation class. We had one a year ago, but we were still very inexperienced and uneducated, and all we really learned is that we were terrible filmmakers. This time is different. Since a year ago, we have taken advanced editing and production classes. We have taken multiple directing courses. And we have each made several short films. (And many mistakes to learn from, as well.)
The concept of the Production Simulation course is a brilliant idea for a film school. Our two top film professors form the “studio”. The sophomore and junior classes combine and are split into three teams. Each team will have the 8-week quarter to make a short film.
My team got started early. About Thanksgiving time, we were given a heads up about this course. So Steve Marshall quickly teamed up with writing team Matt Salisbury and Patrick Lyon. Steve is one of the top student producers at the school, and the writing team, working closely with our screenwriting professor Chris Riley, was able to write a mini-series over Christmas.
Right before Christmas, I talked with Steve, and he asked me to direct the episodes. I was honored.
The final rewrites are just being completed. This week all three teams are completing casting and moving into the final stages of preproduction. Our team’s project is called Skin Deep. It will be four 5-minute Webisodes, about a high school nerd who took on a lifeguarding job over the summer, and comes back to school ripped. The story is about love vs. lust, and the characters that learn the lessons.
This quarter is going to be just the hands-on experience we need to apply all we have been learning. And we fully plan on taking it to the next level with advanced marketing campaigns and promotion. Look forward to it!
Passion to Succeed
By Justin Wilga
Last week it seemed that every professor was lecturing about passion in some way or another. It apparently woke up a lot of students and forced them take a hard long at their ideas and business models. I would say half the class changed their idea this week. But this is welcomed and encouraged. Our professors have come across a multitude of people throughout the course of their careers who have novel business ideas that they later find are unsustainable, which leads them to abandon not only the idea but also their life as an entrepreneur. The LaunchPad process is the antidote to that problem. It forces students to think of a new idea and pursue it. Students will hopefully go through numerous ideas at JP Catholic. The idea is to get one to stick really well.
This past week, people were going through the fleshing out process much faster than anytime previously. Students were able to go through ideas and make them more concrete within the LaunchPad. The ideas were presented and new directions were given. Although so people are starting over, it’s not really a big deal, as they are more passionate about it, which leads them to plow through the details much faster than before.
The ideas were getting more interesting and more exciting. You can really see the pulse of the LaunchPad growing. People are getting more excited, more intense, and most importantly more passionate.
Praying for the Election
By Tasha Freeman
It was really cool to see everyone gather together for the election. We prayed a novena in front of the Blessed Sacrament, there were 24 hours of continuous adoration the day before, a lot of people were fasting and all were praying. When the election results came in, there was of course many of us upset when the pro-life California proposition did not go through, but there were also instantly people starting prayer groups for the conversion of our president-elect. The students here gathered together to support one another and have renewed efforts toward making a difference.
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